Passsifism. What a punny title. Har har. At glance, the word-jujitsu of the title, the smooth bug-free engine, the boppin' in-game music, and most of all the sleek pixelly look of the game's graphics - from the well-chosen font to the sprites, animations, and the brilliantly simple color-scheme - should rightly convey that this is a polished game.

I have to admit upfront, I have a penchant for the style of pixel-art presented in this game. I'm not even sure how to describe the style - just that it's something I like. If I could proclaim to the whole world, "MAKE MORE GAMES WITH ART LIKE THIS" I would. Oh wait. I already am.

Indeed, booting it up for the first time and playing through the tutorial did nothing but make me smile. And it wasn't just the art-direction: the game's one and only tune is something that sounds like it belongs in a Pink Panther film, and boy do I love Pink Panther music. Mixed with the countless swaths of gray machine-like tiles splashed with the vibrant red of the townsfolk, my first thought was that Passifism 2 was about a bumbling spy trapped in Soviet Russia. (but wait - in spy, doesn't Soviet Russia trap you?)

My lame jokes aside, the actual plot of the story is that you're a person who wants to purchase fish food... except you've somehow upset the entire friggin' town so all anyone wants to do is grab you and punch you (all gloriously animated for your pleasure - er, pain).

But it gets even better: since you're a pacifist, you're completely and utterly against raising your fist to all those haters, even in self-defense. And to top it all off? You're a total pansy and you get decked out in one measly blow. Loser.

Amazingly enough, in spite of being such a complete weakling, you do have the ability to jump like six feet into the air and over people's heads. This makes avoiding them just a tad bit easier. Except...

...there are death-pits everywhere; a lot of the townspeople hang out in groups of two or more; a number of the townsfolk are more proactive and actually chase you down; and many places aren't accessible until you flip switches that make blocks appear out of thin-air. So even if you can jump over one person, there's a lot more to keep you on your toes.

The way Passifism 2 approaches platforming is pretty great. But that doesn't mean it doesn't have its own fair share of problems...

Well, let's talk about the engine itself. Collisions with the platforms are perfect - no glitches and no complaints. However, collisions with the townsfolk are... unforgiving to say the least. I'll admit it: I sucked hardcore at the game and I thought it was mad tough. But it wasn't even like Jumper, where once you got the gist of a particular level, it was just a matter of practice til you nailed it. Passifism 2 almost felt like it was based on luck - though that might be my inner suckiness yelling out for an excuse, so take with a grain of salt.

The in-game physics work fine and are technically flawless, but I'm of the opinion that "airy" jumps (like in Super Mario, Metroid, and Cave Story) would have made platforming in Passifism 2 considerably more fun.

Realizing all this took about a solid hour-and-a-half of half-joy and half-frustration... at the end of which I found myself stuck at Level 5. By that point, the lack of variety in everything had pushed me deep into the "I want to do something else" zone so I promptly closed the game.

Some time later, I decided I wanted to give the level I was on another shot - but interestingly, Passifism 2 doesn't have a modern save-system. Instead, it uses password-based saves which are... cool, funny, and wholly inconvenient.

Overall, this is a game with sweet graphics, good sound, and excellent polish - but it lacks the necessary fun-factor to make it worth playing more than once or twice.

That being said, don't let this review stop you from trying it out! Passifism 2 is definitely worth the download, if only to experience its high-quality wholesome goodness at least once. Mmmmmm.

Author's Description

Passifism 2 is a platform/maze game in which you play as a pacifist trying to make his way through the city to purchase some fish food. There are angry people everywhere and the only way to deal with them is, due to your non-violent ways, avoiding them. If your a platforming ninja and the game isn't difficult enough, there is a timed mode and unlockable challenge levels. Additions(Since the first game.) include new levels, a tutorial, music, cleaner graphics, smoother collision/physics, and much more.